The Point of No Return Reprise A Ring and a Kiss
by gerry-erik-phantom-lover26
Summary: An alternate ending to the Phantom of the Opera 2004 movie . I never really liked the ending to the movie, and sadly there was no alternate ending... So I wrote one myslef! Enjoy
1. Chapter 1

Christine stood knee deep in dark, murky water as she stared at the two men in from of her. All time seemed to freeze as they awaited her final decision. She looked first at Raoul. His long, light brown hair draped limply over his terrified and desperate eyes. As children they had had so much fun together. He had really seemed to understand her. But that was it, she never knew for sure. She wondered if things would ever be the same between them if she were to marry him.

As these thoughts flew through her mind, she turned her gaze to Erik. His thick, black hair fell wildly around his disfigured face. Christine, looking deeply into his hard, piercing eyes, reminisced upon the little time they had spent together. The man who was standing before her now was not the Erik she knew. But which man was truly him then? Was choosing Erik over Raoul worth the risk of such an unsure future?

Her heart was being absolutely ripped in two at the terrible decision she now faced; the decision that would determine the rest of her future. Glancing back and forth between the men, she locked eyes with Erik. A sudden compassion for the mysterious man swept over her. She took a few shaky steps toward him. He looked at her with an unsure and slightly confused expression. Then, Christine found herself standing about a foot away from him, and without thinking, she leaned foreword, closed her eyes, and pressed her lips softly against Erik's.

He closed his eyes as well, but remained frozen in the same stiff position, holding the rope which was still looped around Raoul's neck. Christine pulled away and looked at Erik's face, trying to read it for any thoughts or emotions. The look in his eyes confused her. It was a look of amazement, but also fear. Christine reached her hand up and smoothed his hair back, then kissed him again, more passionately than the first time.

Suddenly, she felt Erik pushing away from her. He looked back and forth from her to Raoul and backed away from her like a child would a monster. He threw down the rope he was holding, turned around, and waded out of the water.

"Take him! Forget all you've seen! Go now and leave me alone!" He shouted at Christine angrily as he staggered away.

In shock, Christine watched the man she had learned to love so much walk away from her. Then, Raoul let out a stifled cough behind her, causing Christine to wheel around and trudge her way through the green, slimy water to help untie him. Raoul gasped for breath and pulled Christine close to him in a tight embrace. He then grabbed her arm and dragged her to Erik's boat on the other side of the lake.

Christine glanced back frantically. What was going on? This was not what she wanted! Why was Erik doing this? She looked at Raoul in a sort of daze. She really did love him, but not the same way she loved Erik. Raoul could never take the place of the man she had just lost.

Christine thought of Erik now as she sat in the boat and glided through the shallow water. He had loved her so much. He cared about her more than anything else in his cold, dark world. Christine had been everything to him and she knew it. A terrible pang of guilt and resentment spread through her trembling body as she grasped Raoul's shoulder for balance.

"Wait! Stop the boat!" She heard herself shout.

"What? What is it? Are you okay?" Raoul asked

"Yes, there is just something I have to do." Christine replied timidly, stumbling out of the boat and turning back the way they had come. Raoul reached out and touched her arm.

"Are you sure?" He asked with concern. Christine paused as second thoughts shot through her mind, then moved away from his touch and disappeared into the long, dark tunnel

"I am." She said over her shoulder.


	2. Chapter 2

Christine could dimly see light ahead of her as she turned through winding passageways. Turning one last corner, she saw the small lake and crossed it to where she had seen Erik disappear. She picked up her pace as a horrible thought filled her mind. What if he had already gone?

As she searched for him, Christine passed by long rows of burned down candles with wax dripping from them like ice cycles. Crumpled pieces of paper were strewn all over the floor with notes written on them in thick, black ink. In a far corner, she saw sketches and drawings of herself covering on a desk blanketed with roses.

Suddenly, Christine heard music coming from behind her. She stepped around a corner to see Erik sitting and staring miserably at his music box. She watched to him for a while as he sang to himself softly along with the profusion of notes coming from the music box.

After the song ended, Erik looked up, noticing Christine for the first time. His hard, sea-blue eyes were filled with pain and sadness. Christine was grasped by a sudden compassion for the disfigured man before her. His thick, black hair framed his dark, serious face perfectly. Behind the hurt and suffering in his eyes, she saw potential love and compassion.

Christine took a cautious step towards him as she slipped the ring he had given her off of her finger. Erik slowly stood up on shaky legs and looked at her with both amazement and sorrow. She took his hands and gently placed the ring in them. She stared into his eyes.

"Why?" She asked him, still holding his hands.

"I-I don't know!" Erik said, shaking his head and fighting back tears. "I love you..." he managed to choke.

Christine smiled at him tenderly. She reached up and turned his head to face her, running her hand down the side of his cheek. She stepped back and held out her hand to him. Erik looked up at her with an amazed, but hesitant look. She smiled at him comfortingly and nodded.

With tremulous hands, Erik slid the blue, sparkling ring back onto her finger.

At that moment, Christine knew that she had made the right choice. The way she had felt when Raoul proposed to her on the rooftop so long ago didn't even compare to her feelings now.

Unable to control herself any longer, Christine threw herself into Erik's arms and kissed him.

Erik gasped as her lips pressed against his with a passion he had never felt from her before. After the initial shock, Erik closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around Christine tightly. She ran her fingers through his hair as he held her face gently in his warm hands. Christine intertwined her fingers in his loose shirt and attempted to pull him closer. Erik eagerly obeyed and kissed her more.

But in the midst of their kiss, they heard a voice behind them.


	3. Chapter 3

"Christine! W-what are you _doing_!?" Christine heard Raoul stammer. Her face turned sheet white as she wheeled around to face him.

Erik took her firmly by the hand and pulled her behind him, putting himself protectively in-between her and raoul. He glared at Raoul threateningly.

"Christine!" Raoul shouted again. "Get away from her!" He growled angrily, turning his gaze to Erik.

"Raoul please… no…" Christine muttered softly, beginning to shake.

Erik took an aggressive step towards raoul and reached for his Punjab lasso.

"No Erik!" Christine breathed frantically.

With great hesitance, Erik laid his noose back down and glared again at Raoul. His face was bright red with anger and he stood in a position ready to fight. Christine hid behind Erik, grasping the back of his shirt for support. Raoul looked at her desperately.

"But Christine! I-I thought that you wanted me! Not this… this…" he trailed off, staring at Erik with a lack of words.

"I'm so sorry…" Christine whispered into Erik's back, biting her lip.

Raoul gaped at her. He stood there for a long time, looking at Christine, then back to Erik in disbelief. Finally, he shook his head, turned around, and slowly walked away, glancing once over his shoulder.

After he disappeared into the dark tunnels, Christine turned back around and looked at Erik. His anger dissolved into a gentle, loving look. He took her in his arms and pulled her close to him. Christine buried her face into his chest as a hot tear rolled down her cheek.

"I love you." Christine whispered quietly in his ear.

Erik rested his head softly on hers and closed his eyes. "And you my angel of music."

At those words, Christine, for the first time in her life, knew that everything was going to be alright.


End file.
